Jungle Critters 1960
The Jungle Cruise shows up on Snoozer Sundays an awful lot. I feel like I should send it a pan of brownies as an apology, because I really do enjoy the ride. It's just that the photos from guests often turned out to be less than great. You know what I mean!
Do skippers have nicknames for all of the hippos? I'd call this one "Stinky", just because that name amuses me. But then I'd make sure that his breath was minty fresh. Tic Tacs or something. "They'll never expect it!". Stinky could probably use some Crest whitening strips too, if I'm being honest. Or perhaps a Waterpik. Hey, that's three products mentioned in a single post, if only I was an internet influencer. I could start every post with "Hey Guys! What's UP?". You'd love it.
Old Smiley, that's what they call this fella; he should have a little bird cleaning his teeth, since crocodiles will never buy a Waterpik. Plus the bird could talk to us in a Brooklyn accent, and maybe even encourage us to spend money once we get off the boat. I have more great ideas, if you want them.
20 comments:
Major, those companies should be paying you for mentioning their product on your blog! Now, if I only knew where I could get a device that would open canned goods, without leaving any sharp edges, and a non-stick copper frying pan, that can also be used in the oven.
Happy Snoozer Sunday, to all!
Seeing that crocodile reminds me of a YouTube video I watched this past week - of Richard Wilbanks rescuing his puppy from the jaws of an alligator, in Florida, a couple years ago. Thankfully, the puppy was OK. The entire time Mr. Wilbanks is in the water (and under the water) with the alligator, he never loses the cigar in his mouth, and never loses his cap. He's 74 and quite the hero. Just Google something like "Richard Wilbanks rescues his dog from alligator." I hesitate to attach the link here, in case some folks would rather not view it (though everyone makes it through OK).
Hey Chuck, what's the difference between an alligator and a crocodile?
Thanks, Major. Always love JC and Snoozers!
Major, you didn't go far enough with the hippo's name. It's "Stinky Tuskadero". The inside of "Stinky's" mouth looks remarkably real. I just made myself laugh by picturing the hippo's nostrils as eyes.
That's a pretty good photo of Old Smiley; fairly close up, in focus, good lighting, nice smile. Instead of "cheese", Smiley says "hoomanshh!" when getting his picture taken.
Tokyo!, don't forget that the device also has to be dishwasher safe.
Thanks for the not-exactly-snoozers, Major. And as for being an influencer, you've certainly influenced ME! And I'm sure the rest of the GDB readers (all twelve of them) would agree.
Tokyo!, don't forget that the device also has to be dishwasher safe.
JB, oh yeah! And microwave safe, too. Also, it must be able to withstand being frozen in a block of ice, and being driven over by a 12-ton truck!
I would like to have a Jungle Cruise in a little skiff, and stop over on the island...which is another adventure, that sounds like some trouble I would get into, but didn't. The jungle is now so jungly, but I think they cut it back...and I don't remember the rain forest, with the mist and fake flowers...that later became all real vegetation, save the flowers, which remained fake..and then taken off. Now I think that entire canopy is gone. Maybe unstable? I'd go back to the animals, but for some strange and odd reason, my browser is returning the post of October 9, 2020: Tomorrowland at night. I also would like to see the jungle without animations, sounds, or anything...in my little skiff that I paddle myself. If anyone on here has had that experience, I would like to hear about it. Also, if it was at night...it just might be kind of terrifying. Another thought I had was to have real fire flys hanging about...I would like more in my backyard this year please. I'm not a fan of bugs, but they are so darn cute! I'm hanging up now to Google "how to increase fire flys in your yard for 2023". Thanks for the snooze this am Major!
Hey, they should load the Skippers' guns with breath mints! Or give them Super Soakers filled with Listerine.
Sue, I always remember that video of a cat chasing an alligator out of its owners' back yard.
Poor Stinky! He got his name in 1963 when he surfaced from the water, scared this little boy so much that he crapped his pants. Everyone on the boat cried "Eeeew! STINKY!". The name stuck ever since. Always blame it on the hippo.
LOVE Jungle Cruise animal pics. Thanks, Major.
Sue, I watched the video. So glad Gunner made it out alive. Cut dog.
The Jungle Cruise is possibly the hardest of attractions to take good photos, but I continue to try, and apparently others do also.
These animatronics look amazingly real. I remember my granddad was convinced they were real critters. I can just imagine the hippo breath.
Major, I never thought about it before, but you’re right, a crocodile would never buy a water pik, makes sense.
A quiet row through a silent jungle sounds like a good time. These boats are also basically trains, running on tracks similar to the Mark Twain, so there are places we would need a skiff to get to…. I’ve always been curious about backstage access and how to get to the little bunker that KS describes.
Thanks Major!
JG
TokyoMagic!, the device you mentioned would make my every day life a dream, but mankind has not evolved enough. Perhaps in 1000 years?
Lou and Sue, not sure who Richard Wilbanks is, but I’m glad his puppy is OK. Funny that he didn’t want to lose that cigar. Not sure I’d want to leap into water with an alligator, but maybe it was just a reflex on his part.
JB, oh I like that name! Nostrils as eyes, you have to lay off those funny cigarettes! ;-) I have a friend who amused his grandson with photos of Old Smiley, and then they went to Disneyland and rode the Jungle Cruise, and there was no Old Smiley. To be honest I’m not sure if he’s supposed to still be there or if he was just temporarily removed, but still, a precious moment was lost.
TokyoMagic!, before I use anything, I freeze it in a block of ice and drive over it with a 12 ton truck. Sure, it’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it.
Bu, I’ve always thought that it would be fun to take a canoe or kayak through the Jungle Cruise, and yes, it would be neat to visit the parts that are normally off limits. They did cut the jungle back at one time, I remember being able to see the sky in places that were once so dense. But presumably they have filled back in (I have only been on the JC at night, when you can’t see much anyway). I think there was a story (released by Disney?) about how the jungle had become a “real” jungle, self-sustaining, but I find that hard to believe. You don’t get lush plants like that in Orange County without a little help (sprinklers, at the very least). I’ve never understood why California doesn’t have fireflies, you’d think they would like the mild weather. We sure saw a ton of them in Minnesota when I was a kid!
Melissa, instead of a gun, how about give the Skippers Pez dispensers? Brilliant! This is why I am the head of NASA, I guess. I love videos of cats or little dogs scaring away much larger predators.
K. Martinez, Stinky needs to stop being ashamed and “own” his name. As I’ve learned from many Disney movies, you need to “be yourself”. Which reminds me of “Cinderella 2”, the direct to DVD movie. The whole message seemed to be that one of the wicked stepsisters should “be herself”, but then they spend a long scene giving her a makeover to make her attractive. So she wasn’t “herself” at all!
K. Martinez, I guess I need to go to YouTube after I’m done with the comments.
JG, I agree, I have never taken a photo worth a fig on the Jungle Cruise. What I need is a private boat, and they need to go really slow to allow me to move from one side of the boat to the other. How do we make this happen? Should I reveal that “It’s me, Major Pepperidge”? It’s so embarrassing when they all start bowing to me, though. What if you were in a skiff on the Jungle Cruise river, and (because you aren’t on a track), a hippo rises from the water and capsizes your boat?? That would be cool!
Major-
In the category of "We don't have to make this stuff up..." comes this bit of 'necessity is the mother of invention': CHECK THIS OUT
And for those who wish there were "other plans" for Fantasmic comes this bit of 'news'. (Thank you, Sue) HA, HA, HA-!
Thanks, Major.
Sue, what’s the difference between an alligator and a crocodile? You’ll see one later and the other after awhile. And on my first read through I thought you were talking about Richard Widmark’s dog.
Major, you are the only person I know who has ever seen Cinderella 2: the Cinderellaning. I hope no permanent damage was done.
Nanook, what a job it must be to work at a zoo and do jobs like that! And oh man, if only I'd been there to see the dragon burn up.
Chuck, I worked at Disney during the era when they were making/releasing all of those DVD sequels (I worked on one, so...) and they would give employees free DVDs (usually) when one was released. Cinderella 2 is not terrible, but like all of those sequels, they just feel like watered down versions of the originals.
We sold Disney DVDs when I worked in the children's section of a department store, and I think I must have seen Aladdin and the King of Thieves a thousand times.
Tokyo!, also, it needs to be able to saw aluminum cans in half, and then slice tomatoes with ease! And needs to have a USB port for recharging.
Major, "It’s so embarrassing when they all start bowing to me" Ain't it the truth... Life can be hard.
Nanook & Sue, thank you for that link. A combo of: tragic, funny, scary, and "about time". I wonder if they discontinued Fantasmic until they could re-build or replace the dragon? (Also, figure out what went wrong!)
"Now, if I only knew where I could get a device that would open canned goods, without leaving any sharp edges, and a non-stick copper frying pan, that can also be used in the oven."
"Tokyo!, don't forget that the device also has to be dishwasher safe."
"JB, oh yeah! And microwave safe, too. Also, it must be able to withstand being frozen in a block of ice, and being driven over by a 12-ton truck!"
"Tokyo!, also, it needs to be able to saw aluminum cans in half, and then slice tomatoes with ease! And needs to have a USB port for recharging."
I was in a comedy sketch once where the prize on a game show was a dual-alarm, shock resistant food processor that makes coffee, shells peas, separates eggs, and churns butter. Only two of us had to remember the whole thing: Me, the contestant who says "I want to win enough money to buy..." and the host, who says, "Today's grand prize is a..."
Neither of us could get through it to save our lives. The host kept mispronouncing "processor" and forgetting "dual-alarm and shock resistant," and I couldn't remember all the functions. The only part we could both reliably get was "...and churns butter." So in the end, we kept breaking into each other's lines.
"It's a food processessor..."
"Is it dual-alarm and shock resistant?"
"Yes, it is! And it makes coffee..."
"Shells peas?"
"Separates eggs..."
(unison) "AND CHURNS BUTTER!"
Melissa, hahaha! It's harder when you have to memorize specific lines/functions. Here, we just say it once, and it's done; no memorization.
Tokyo!, AND, it has to churn butter! ;-)
Major, I’ve never actually seen Cinderella 2, so I really can’t judge. I have seen sone of the other sequels, and “watered down
versions of the originals” is a pretty good description. My oldest swore that Lion King 2 was better than the original until we watched them back to back. He changed his opinion. And any animated film you worked on is better than any animated film I worked on.
Melissa, we actually pre-ordered Aladdin and the King of Thieves on VHS sone five years before we had kids. And it wasn’t terrible. And I love that sketch you described.
JB, you mean we don’t have to memorize GDB comments? Man, will that be a time-saver…
I thought the DTV sequel was Cinderella 2: Electric Boogaloo, where Cindy organizes a dance contest to save a community center from a developer who wants to bulldoze it,
Monday morning. Wish I had had the time yesterday to see and comment. Many of the Jr. Gorillas appear to have that JC sense of humor too! Officially, we called the hippos 'Charger 1" and "Charger 2" in case there were any maintenance issues but the skippers had various pet names for them. As for rowing in a skiff at night, and with the sound off, knowing there are rats out there...I don't find that too appealing to try. I've seen group pictures of JC skippers en mass out in the veldt or other locations in various humorous poses, but that was done by walking from the perimeter into the area...the islands are much too small for that. And that was before social media. Yes...the motorized skiff...the one I went down in under Schweitzer Falls...I'll leave that for another day. KS
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